Once you find out what happened in Rwanda, you’ll never forget. OscarÂ(r) nominee* Don Cheadle (Traffic) gives “the performance of his career in this extraordinarily powerful” (The Hollywood Reporter) and moving true story of one man’s brave stance against savagery during the 1994 Rwandan conflict. Sophie Okonedo (Dirty Pretty Things) co-stars as the loving wife who challenges a good man to become a great man. As his country descends into madness, five-star-hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina (Cheadle) sets out to save his family. But when he sees that theworld will not intervene in the massacre of minority Tutsis, he finds the courage to open his hotelto more than 1,200 refugees. Now, with a rabid militia at the gates, he must use his well-honed grace, flattery and cunning to protect his guests from certain death. *2004: Actor, Hotel RwandaSolidly built around a subtle yet commanding performance by Don Cheadle, Hotel Rwanda emerged as one of the most highly-praised dramas of 2004. In a role that demands his quietly riveting presence in nearly every scene, Cheadle plays real-life hero Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager in the Rwandan capital of Kigali who in 1994 saved 1,200 Rwandan “guests” from certain death during the genocidal clash between tribal Hutus, who slaughtered a million victims, and the horrified Tutsis, who found safe haven or died. Giving his best performance since his breakthrough role in Devil in a Blue Dress, Cheadle plays Rusesabagina as he really was during the ensuing chaos: “an expert in situational ethics” (as described by critic Roger Ebert), doing what he morally had to do, at great risk and potential sacrifice, with an understanding that wartime negotiations are largely a game of subterfuge, cooperation, and clever bribery. Aided by a United Nations official (Nick Nolte), he worked a saintly miracle, and director Terry George (Some Mother’s Son) brings formidable social conscience to bear on a true story you won’t soon forget. –Jeff Shannon
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March 13, 2008
#1
A shallow movie so bloated with its own importance that it doesn’t take the time to build characters or psychological complexity, “Hotel Rwanda” is essentially a failure.
The problem is one of scope: it’s impossible to capture the horror of a genocide in a two-hour movie, and any attempt to do so will fail. This movie seems to think that audiences will be so drawn in by its events that they’ll overlook how rudimentarily its characters are portrayed, how interchangeable the movie itself makes them out to be. For a movie that purports to emphasize the unimaginable horror borne of dehumanization, this seems like an even greater failure. The problem is the assumption that an audience will immediately identify with the characters – that as Don Cheadle’s eyes swell with noble tears, so will those of every viewer.
The end result is a movie that’s both patronizing and forgettable – squandering its compelling subject matter and setting on a bunch of faceless characters and a hamhanded screenplay. It’s best taken not as a final statement, but as a weak opening salvo in what could be a vast cultural conversation regarding these issues.
March 13, 2008
#2
I have not seen this movie. From the comments I did read I feel Hollywood has once again taken facts and Holywood-ized them. The main character had only a minimal role and pretty much didn’t have a choice to help out.
To make a factual assessment of the Genocide in Rwanda you should read the book “Shake Hands with the Devil” by Romeo Dallaire. He was the General in charge of the UN forces there at the time. It outlines the complete futility of the mission, the inept UN Organization in New York, the lack of cooperation and lies from the waring parties. Most importantly the way the world turned it’s back on Rwanda, specifically the United States. These brave Countries had assessed there was no “value” or “gain” in helping Rwanda.
Read the book.
March 14, 2008
#3
So you can imagine my disalousion — sadness when my boss tells me I’ve got to go on a sales trip to Rwanda. Not only is it hot as hell, but I sure don’t speak the language. Then I arrive and find out that this hotel is great! The price was pretty decent (49 guinees a night), and I got lots of free amenities! Unlimited towels, pool access, cable. No plumbing after 6, and I caught malaria from the water. Still, I definitely would make a return visit to Hotel Rwanda next time I’m in town. (*Travelers tip, if you have kids, bring em! Lots of wildlife for them to play with!)
March 14, 2008
#4
I was disappointed with the movie. I was hoping Rwanda, including the hotel would all be destroyed. Im sick and tired of Africa. The problem with Africa is that its full of Africans. Oh, well. Sigh.
March 14, 2008
#5
‘Hotel Rwanda’ is just a medicore film about a horrific, undercovered, and forgetten genocide in the African country of Rwanda. The genocide occured in 1994 and it is now finally being revealed to the majority of the American public. Nothing really stood out in the film that made me remember it too much. Watch a PBS documentary about the event if it comes on television one of these days. It will most likely be more informative and enlightening than this movie. Making a movie about a tragic event does not make it automatically worthwhile or rewarding.